Pre season is a vital period of time for a team, especially with a team that is continuing to adapt to a new manager. New players will have to step up their already high work rates to please Pochettino. Working at higher rates could tire out a team, especially when the team needs to be at their best.
For example, during February of 2015, Spurs played 5 matches in the month, with three being in the Premier League, and two being in the Europa League. Spurs only won 1 match during the month, the heart stopping match against Arsenal. 2 draws, one against West Ham, and the other against Fiorentina. The losses came against Liverpool and Fiorentina in the away leg, a very disappointing 2-0 loss.
Picking up only 4 points during a month is disappointing to say the least, with Tottenham always trying to fight for a top 4 spot in the league. The main contributor to the form in my opinion is the amount of matches played. Tottenham played many matches last season, going far into the Europa League, and reaching the final in the Capital One Cup. With that amount of matches played, any team should be fatigued. But with that amount of matches during the season, should Tottenham play so many pre season friendlies?
Tottenham toured North America to play the Seattle Sounders, Toronto FC, and the Chicago Fire. Then played Celtic and Schalke. That’s 5 games within three weeks, plus traveling to the States and back certainly take a toll on the team. And that workload so early on in the season could be a potential killer.
Now to this season. Tottenham has already played friendlies against Brentford and Reading. Then they travel to the U.S. to play the MLS All-Stars on July 29th. Then they travel to play in the Audi Cup in Germany on the 4th of August. Playing teams like Real Madrid, F.C. Bayern, and A.C. Milan will be big tests for Spurs, especially if they want to take the competition seriously.
Playing games like that in rapid succession, in my opinion, is not helpful whatsoever. While I am looking forward to those games, I wish Tottenham would tone it down on the friendlies from now on. I feel like going for a top 4 spot is the most important task for Poch this season, and he can’t reach it with a fatigued squad.
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